The Clippers spent months saying no. Teams called about Kawhi Leonard, and LA basically told them to get lost. The offers were weak, the Clippers said. Not worth it. But Tuesday afternoon, the Raptors made an offer that finally changed the math.
So Kawhi Leonard is going back to Toronto. The same franchise he dragged to a title in 2019 is getting him again, five years later. According to league sources, the deal sends Leonard to the Raptors in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap, and two second-rounders. ESPN first broke the news.
The Raptors kept upping their offer until the Clippers caved
Early Tuesday morning, the package was Ingram, Dick, and just one first-rounder. That was the base. But Toronto kept pushing. They threw in more picks, they added the swap. The Clippers finally took what they figured was the best deal they were gonna get.
And look, it’s not like LA wanted to trade Kawhi. Lawrence Frank, the team’s president of basketball ops, has been saying all offseason that keeping Leonard was priority one. But the Clippers have been stuck in cap hell under the new CBA. They watched Paul George walk to Philly for nothing in 2024. They let James Harden squirm until he asked out in February. They weren’t about to let Kawhi leave for nothing too.
Kawhi’s camp wanted a max extension. The Raptors were willing to give him one.
Leonard’s people had been pushing for a two-year max deal worth a little over $120 million. The Clippers didn’t want to do it. Not with their tax situation, not with the apron restrictions. The Raptors? They were happy to say yes. So the deal got done.
This is a 35-year-old Kawhi coming off arguably his best season in the league. 27.9 points, 6.4 boards, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals. He shot 50.5 percent from the field and nearly 39 percent from three. Played 65 games too, which for him is basically a full season. He looked like the old Kawhi again.
Now he lands in Toronto with a real squad. Scottie Barnes is becoming a two-way monster. RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley are solid. Young guys like Collin Murray-Boyles and Ja’Kobe Walters add depth. The Raptors had a strong regular season last year but lost to Cleveland in Game 7. They think Leonard gets them over that hump.
The Clippers side of things: they land Ingram, who’s still only 27 and can score. Dick is a promising young shooter. And they load up on draft capital after sending so many picks out in the Paul George and James Harden trades. They won’t be terrible. But they won’t be contenders either. Not right now.
One thing nobody’s asked yet: how does Kawhi feel about leaving LA again? His family’s there. He’s from Southern California. But Toronto gave him a championship and a city that still worships him. That counts for something. Maybe a lot.
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